July 8 Flare Sighting Release - by Tim Jones Team Leader/ SAR MGR NSR
a.. North Shore Rescue was contacted by NV RCMP shortly after 900 pm last night regarding a flare sighting seen from an area just east of Capilano River Canyon Park
b.. NSR SAR MGRs interviewed 3 persons who observed a red/pink parachute type flare and triangulated its position to an area bordering homes east of the Capilano Fish Hatchery
c.. RCMP patrol members checked residential areas and Capilano Regional Park for any overdue vehicles or other sightings continually through the night .
d.. RCMP AIR 1 Helicopter using night vision was vectored into the area via GPS coordinates by NSR SAR MGRs on a radio interoperable frequency and confirmed that one was in this general area.
e.. Metro Vancouver staff were alerted also.
NSR SAR MGR Tim Jones states "We have regular flare sightings on the North Shore that require thorough joint investigation by the Police and NSR. Some of these investigations such as last Boxing day off Cypress Bowl Lookout led to an all night tracking down of a flare launched from a residential address."
"Every flare sighting in these circumstances bordering residential areas have turned out to unfounded , however, we have to check out each one and also apply risk management for our volunteers."
"Last night's sighting from a risk management view did not include putting NSR volunteers into Capilano Canyon at night. We as a team are also aware of the lawsuit in Golden over the SOS signals in the snow in which an out of bounds skier died from hypothermia before she was rescued."
"We ask people who do this type of activity to think of what the consequences would be if a NSR volunteer or police member was accidentally injured or worse killed while investigating an unfounded flare sighting"
